Redshirt (character)
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A redshirt is a stock character, used frequently in science fiction but also in other genres, whose purpose is to die soon after being introduced, thus indicating the dangerous circumstances faced by the main characters. The term comes from the science fiction television series Star Trek, in which security officers wear red shirts and are often killed on missions under the aforementioned circumstances.[1]
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[edit] Star Trek origins
In the original 1966 Star Trek series, security officers, who wear red, meet tragic ends in many episodes. Typically, a landing party includes at least one red-shirted security officer who is dead soon after the mission begins.
In the Pocket Books Star Trek novel Killing Time, a time-tampering plot twist turns Captain James T. Kirk into an ensign. While he is dressing for duty, a fellow crew member says, "Let's just say that on this ship — or probably any other — you don't want to wear a red shirt on landing-party duty."[2]
[edit] Parodies
The concept of "redshirts" has been parodied extensively. Some of the more notable instances:
- In the animated series Captain Simian and the Space Monkeys, Holo Boons were red-shirt-wearing characters who only existed for the purpose of being destroyed after being sent out into danger as one of the series' running gags.
- In the Family Guy episode "I Never Met the Dead Man", Captain Kirk announced that the landing party to a planet would consist of himself, Mr. Spock, Dr. McCoy and a certain Ensign Ricky wearing a red shirt, to which the ensign interjects "Ah, crap!" Later on in the episode when William Shatner dies after being hit by a car driven by Meg in the rain, Ensign Ricky is seen in the onlooking crowd saying, "Huh, didn't see that one coming."
- In the Futurama episode "Where No Fan Has Gone Before", the Planet Express team lands on a forbidden planet with a Star Trek convention. They encounter the lost cast members of Star Trek, including a previously-unknown "Welshie", who wears a red shirt and is killed by Melllvar, the self-proclaimed ultimate Star Trek fan. Throughout the episode, Melllvar continues to attack Welshie even though he is clearly dead. In another episode of Futurama, during a battle, Zapp Brannigan (himself a parody of Captain Kirk) gives the order "Send in the redshirts!".
- In the 1999 movie Galaxy Quest (a parody of Star Trek), the character Guy Fleegman is an actor who appeared in one episode of the fictional series Galaxy Quest as a crewman who was killed on an away mission before the first commercial. Trapped with the rest of the cast in a real-life reenactment of the Galaxy Quest series, Guy spends the entire movie worrying that he is fated to die.
- In the Kim Possible episode "Dimension Twist", when Kim is temporarily sent to a Star Trek-esque TV show and given a red uniform, the captain tells her she is expendable and sends her on an away mission.
- In the Lost episode "All The Best Cowboys Have Daddy Issues", the character Boone describes the phenomenon of redshirts to another character, and is killed later in the season.
- The song "He's Dead Jim" from M.O.D.'s album Loved by Thousands, Hated by Millions is about a redshirt.
- In the Robot Chicken episode "The Munnery", a redshirt was stranded on a planet with Kirk, Spock, and other bridge crew. He was the only one armed, though, and kills and eats the others.
- In the South Park episode "City on the Edge of Forever" a kid wearing a Star Trek red shirt tries to leave the school bus and is killed by a gigantic black monster (voiced by Henry Winkler).
- In the Stargate SG-1 episode "The Other Guys", aboard an enemy vessel when the main characters of that episode come under attack, Coombs turns to Felger and says, "Oh, come on, Felger, we might as well be wearing red shirts."
- The Star Trek-themed band Warp 11 references redshirts in many of their songs, including "Rage Against the Federation" and "Boldly Go Down On Me", which are sung from the point of view of a redshirt.
[edit] See also
- Cannon fodder, an expression used to describe military personnel or equipment that is considered expendable in the face of enemy fire.
- Character shield, the metaphorical shield that protects "important" characters
- Forlorn hope
- Greenshirts (G.I. Joe)
- MacGuffin, a plot device in a work of fiction that motivates the characters and advances the story, but has little other relevance to the story.
- Pawn (chess) The original expendable foot soldier.
- Sacrificial lamb, a metaphorical reference for a person who has no chance of surviving the challenge ahead, but is placed there for the common good.
- Stormtrooper effect
- Scapegoat
- Spear carrier
[edit] References
- ^ Robert W. Bly (1996). Why You Should Never Beam Down in a Red Shirt: And 749 More Answers to Questions About Star Trek. ISBN 0062733842.
- ^ Hise, Della Van (1985). Killing Time. Pocket Books. ISBN 0671524887.
